Aurelia Butler

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    U.K. Boosts Military Spending and Cuts Welfare in ‘Uncertain World’

    The changes come as President Trump’s tariff threats have disrupted global trade and added pressure to the British government’s already strained budget.The British government on Wednesday laid out plans for higher military spending and cuts to social benefits, as it sought to keep the nation’s finances on track in what it called a “more uncertain world.”Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said there would be an extra 2.2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) for defense in the fiscal year that begins next month. And she reiterated recently announced reductions to the benefits system that were expected to save about £5 billion by 2030.The changes come as President Trump’s economic policies have disrupted the global economy, putting more demands on the British government’s already stretched budget. Like many other European countries, Britain has pledged to spend more on defense to support Ukraine against Russia. At the same time, the threat of a global trade war is lurking and interest rates have increased, pushing up government borrowing costs.“Our task is to secure Britain’s future in a world that is changing before our eyes,” Ms. Reeves said in Parliament on Wednesday.“The job of a responsible government is not simply to watch this change,” she added. “This moment demands an active government.”Adding to the hurdles, the British economy slowed in the second half of last year, and the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent watchdog, halved its forecast for growth this year to 1 percent from 2 percent.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    U.S. Could Run Out of Cash by May, Budget Office Predicts

    The Congressional Budget Office said that the so-called X-date could occur as early as spring if Congress does not lift or suspend the nation’s debt limit.The U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills by late May if Congress does not raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.The forecast puts added pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to address the borrowing cap, which restricts the total amount of money that the United States is authorized to borrow to fund the government and meet its financial obligations. A protracted standoff later this year could rattle markets and complicate President Trump’s plans to enact more tax cuts.The C.B.O. noted that its forecast is subject to uncertainty over how much tax revenue the federal government will collect this year. It expects that the United States will have sufficient funds to keep paying bills through August or September. However, it said that if borrowing needs exceed its projections, the U.S. could run out of cash by late May or sometime in June.“The projected exhaustion date is uncertain because the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening months could differ from C.B.O.’s projections,” the budget office said in a report.The so-called X-date is the moment when the United States is unable to pay its bills, including interest payments to investors who hold government debt. Failure to meet those obligations could result in the United States defaulting on its debt. The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt, which is considered one of the safest investments in the world, and brinkmanship over missed payments could be economically damaging.The national debt is now approaching $37 trillion. Lawmakers agreed in June 2023 to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Annotated Text From Leaked Signal Group Chat With Top Trump Officials

    <!–> [–><!–>Excerpts of a Signal chat published Monday by The Atlantic provide a rare and revealing look at the private conversations of top Trump administration officials as they weighed plans for U.S. strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.–><!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> [!–> <!–> Thursday, March 13 [–> Michael Waltz 4:28 p.m. […] More

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    Living Car-Free in Arizona, on Purpose and Happily

    Last year, when Andre Rouhani and Gabriela Reyes toured Culdesac Tempe, a rental development outside of Phoenix, the place looked pretty sweet. It had winsome walkways, boutique shops and low-slung white stucco buildings clustered around shaded courtyards.The only surprise came when Mr. Rouhani, 33, a doctoral student at Arizona State University, asked about resident parking and was told there was none.The couple had two dogs, a toddler and another baby on the way. “Long story short, we decided that all the pros outweigh the cons,” Mr. Rouhani said in a recent phone interview. The family gave its car to Ms. Reyes’ father and moved into Culdesac in December. “We do really, really love it here,” Mr. Rouhani said. “It’s the best place I’ve ever lived.”50 States, 50 Fixes is a series about local solutions to environmental problems. More to come this year.Modeled on towns in Italy and Greece built long before the advent of cars, Culdesac Tempe is what its developers call the country’s first neighborhood purposely built to be car free. Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live

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    NYT Crossword Answers for March 26, 2025

    Nathan Hale’s puzzle is fully loaded with fun.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — When it comes to crossword themes, every part of a puzzle grid is fair game. Black squares and borders can serve as visual representations of concepts, like language “barriers” and state lines. They can even be arranged to represent architectural wonders.In today’s crossword, Nathan Hale is especially 9-Down in his use of black squares to represent a themed phrase, timed to (nearly) coincide with a certain American sport’s opening day. Let’s root, root, root for the answers together, shall we?Today’s Theme“Waiter, there’s a hyphen in my clue!” Don’t send back the puzzle — this just means that the clues’ entries are part of a longer phrase that begins in a separate place. I’ll give you an example: At 19A, the clue reads [“I’ve done this before”]. To the right, 20-Across is just [-]. The phrase that solves 19A extends through 20A: NOT MY FIRST RODEO. Hang on, you may be thinking. I don’t see the word FIRST in the grid. That’s because it’s represented by the black square between 19A and 20A.Repeat the exercise at 25A, and you’ll find that [Not so sure about a wedding, say] solves across the [-] at 27A to HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS. Once again, the word SECOND seems to be missing, replaced by a single black square.This is where the revealer clue comes in handy: To [Take care of everything] is to COVER ALL THE BASES (40A) — which is exactly what four squares in this puzzle do. Now that we’ve identified first and second bases, you should have an easy time determining the remaining phrases: One uses the word “third,” and the last uses the word “home.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Art Expert Accused of Duping Prince and Palace of Versailles Stands Trial

    A connoisseur of 18th-century French furniture fooled buyers into purchasing chairs with fake royal pedigrees, authorities say. The distinct taste of licorice helped give him away.Bill Pallot had an unparalleled passion for 18th-century French chairs that he turned into a lucrative career consulting with museums, galleries, collectors and the Palace of Versailles.He became a fixture in Parisian society and a celebrity in the art world, until he was felled by a former student who had become so steeped in antiques that he could — literally — taste a fake.At the height of his powers, Mr. Pallot’s expertise and assurances of authenticity had helped convince French experts to designate multiple items as national treasures. He also used his renown to dupe deep-pocketed buyers, including Prince Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani of Qatar, into believing they were purchasing genuine pieces of royal history.He attested to the authenticity of seating said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette and to the mistress of Louis XV, Madame du Barry.People believed so fully in Mr. Pallot because almost 40 years ago he wrote what was long considered the book on the topic: “The Art of the Chair in 18th Century France,” which includes a preface by his friend, the antique enthusiast and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.Now, Mr. Pallot is perhaps best known for using his knowledge of art history to hoodwink some of the most esteemed antique experts and buyers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Care About Food Waste? In Massachusetts, You Can Be a Compost Consultant.

    America has a food waste problem: Rotten tomatoes and pizza boxes end up in trash dumps and produce a potent planet-heating gas called methane.Massachusetts has a fix: A state regulation requires businesses to keep food out of dumpsters. To help them comply, the state offers a carrot, in the form of a chatty, practical, 63-year-old hand-holding food-waste-reduction consultant named Heather Billings.Which is how, on a frigid Wednesday morning, Ms. Billings found herself poking around the narrow kitchen of the Port Tavern, a sports bar in Newburyport, Mass.An owner of the Port Tavern, Abbie Hannan, left, invited Ms. Billings to look at how the restaurant managed its waste.She quickly spotted a very solvable problem at the prep cook’s station: a 23-gallon trash can into which went tomato tops and other food scraps.Then came the dumpster inspection. Could anything in there go to compost?Ms. Billings, a consultant contracted by the state government, took notes, snapped pictures and peered behind the bar to assess where the lemon wedges and plastic olive skewers ended up.She had some easy fixes for Port Tavern’s co-owner Abbie Hannan. She proposed inexpensive, four-gallon plastic buckets to nest inside the bigger trash bins to collect food scraps. She connected Ms. Hannan to compost haulers and a charity that could pick up leftover edible food.Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live

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    They’re in Hot Water in Idaho. Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing.

    50 States, 50 FixesThey’re in Hot Water in Idaho. Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing.Nearly 500 buildings in the state capital get their heat from a clean, renewable source located deep in the ground.Kirkham Hot Springs in Boise National Forest.It’s pretty easy to get into hot water in Boise. After all, it’s in Idaho, a state filled with hundreds of hot springs.The city has tapped into that naturally hot water to create the largest municipally run geothermal system in the country.Nearly 500 Boise businesses, government buildings and homes — as well as hospital and university buildings, City Hall and a Y.M.C.A. — are warmed by heat drawn directly from hot water reservoirs, or aquifers, below ground. The Idaho Statehouse, in Boise, is the only one in the United States to use geothermal heat. The heat even warms some sidewalks in the winter, to melt the snow, and raises the temperature in hot tubs.50 States, 50 Fixes is a series about local solutions to environmental problems. More to come this year.Renewable, reliable and relatively free of pollution, geothermal heating is possible in Boise because of fault lines that expose groundwater to hot rocks, heating water to around 170 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 77 degrees Celsius. The water is drawn from wells in nearby foothills into a closed-loop network of pipes that reach into buildings, before going back to the aquifer to be heated again.Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live

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